Globe mounting



1951 w. F. SCARBOROUGH EIAL 7 7 GLOBE MOUNTING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledDec. 16, 1958 INVENTORS. Sea 5 07? I BY 5 Z6 8/,

GLOBE MQUNTING William F. Scarborough, Crete, and Gildo Tieri, ChicagoHeights, 111., assignors to Weber-Qostello Co., Chicago Heights, 111., acorporation of Illinois Filed Dec. 16, 1958, Ser. No. 780,699

7 Claims. (C1. 35-46) This invention relates to improvements in aterrestrial globe and more particularly to an improved mountingtherefor.

Various types of mountings are known in the prior art for terrestrialglobes. Examples of the conventional types of mountings includerotatable mounting on an inclined spindle, a semi-meridian ringmounting, a full meridian ring mounting, and a polar view mountingwherein the globe ball is supported in an arcuate cradle but isunattached and freely removable from the cradle. All of these varioustypes of mountings have certain advantages for educational and otherpurposes. However, prior to. the present invention globes have not beenavailable which olfer in a single structural unit the combinedadvantages and operating characteristics of these several differentmounting arrangements.

Accordingly, one object of the invention is to provide a novelcombination mounting for a terrestrial globe which permits the globe tobe used in a plurality of different ways.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel mounting meansfor a terrestrial globe which affords the combined features of both ameridian ring mounting and a polar view mounting.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an improved globemounting means as described above which is characterized by a noveldetachable relationship between the globe ball and its supportingstructure.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe subsequent detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of a globe comprising one specificembodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view taken at 90 relative to the view seenin Fig. 1 and showing the parts of the globe in a different operatingrelation;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 33of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing a modified form of theinvention;

Fig. 5 is an elevational view taken at 90 relative to the view shown inFig. 4 and with the parts of the globe disposed in a different operatingrelation; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view showing a structuraldetail of the invention.

Briefly described, our invention comprises a globe ball supportingstructure which provides all of the characteristics and advantages of aswinging full meridian ring mounting and a polar view mounting. Thisobjective is achieved by means of a cradle base adapted to receive theglobe ball in freely turnable relation and a meridian ring swingablysupported above the cradle base by means of a pair of uprightdiametrically opposed supports. As will hereinafter appear in detail,the globe ball is pro vided with a simple detachable rotatableconnection between each .of its poles and the meridian ring so that whenthe ball is rotatably mounted in the ring the globe meridian ringmounted globe.

2,971,276 Patented Feb. 14, 1961 can be used in the conventional mannerof a swinging full However, when the ball is detached from the meridianring it is supported by the cradle base for free turning movement in anydirection or complete removal from the base for closer examination bythe user. An important feature of the invention resides in the provisionof a great circle scale along the meridian ring and the properdimensional relationships such that when the globe ball is detached fromthe ring and supported on the cradle base the ring may be utilized toprovide accurate great circle measurements on the surface of the globeball.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 3, one embodiment of the invention isshown comprising a globe ball ll, :1 base 32, and a meridian ring in theform of a flat circular band 13. The base 12 is formed in this instancefrom a pair of wood base members 14 and 16 which are secured to eachother at right angles in the form of a cross. The lower edges of themembers 14 and 16 are flat for supporting the device on a surface andthe upper edges of the members 14 and 16 are formed with a curvaturewhich conforms to the curvature of the globe ball ii. These upper curvededges of the members 1416 are provided with a cushion or lining 17, suchas felt or the like, so as to insure a smooth, non-scratching cradle support for the globe ball H.

A pair of generally upright supporting arms 18 are rigidly attached, asby screws 19, at their lower ends to the base member 16 so that theupper end portions of the arms 13 are disposed in diametrically spacedrelation at opposite sides of the meridian ring 13. The meridian ring 13is in the form of a flat circular band having a width designated at B inFig. 1. The ring or band 13 is provided with external indicia 21constituting a great circle meter or scale which, in this instance, isreadable at the lower edge of the band 13 as seen in Fig. l. The band 13is swingably supported in slightly spaced relation above the cradlesurface 17 by means of pivot pins or rivets 22 extending between theupper ends of the arms 18 and the center of the width of the band 13.Friction collars or spacers 23 are interposed between the arms 13 andthe band 13 to provide a limited frictional resistance so that the band13 will be retained in any position to which it is moved. it will beappreciated that thumb screws or other means could be used in place ofthe friction joint 22-23 for providing the desired tight swingablemounting of the ring 13 on the arms 18.

The globe ball 11 has a detachable mounting within the meridian ring orband 13 so that the ball can be used in either of the two mountingpositions heretofore mentioned. In the illustrated embodiment thedetachable connection between the globe ball and the meridian ring isprovided by means of a pair of spring pressed depressable plunger typepivot pins located at the poles of the globe and retaining the globeball 11 at the proper axial inclination relative to the ring 13, as seenin Fig. 2. The pivot means at each pole of the globe ball 11 isdesignated generally at 24 and is best seen in Fig. 3. Thus, the pivotmeans 24 comprises an elongated tubular element 26 having a detachablesliding fit through a grommet 27 which is seated in an axial opening inthe shell of the globe ball 11 for rotatably mounting the usual timedisk 28. The outer end of the tubular element 26 is flanged, as at 29,and seats against the grommet 27. A plunger 31 is slidably fitted in thetubular element as and has an outermost reduced diameter end portion orpin 32 which projects through an opening 33 into the band 13. A guidestem in the form of an elongated screw 34 is threadedly connected to theinner end of the plunger 31 and has a head portion 36 which co acts witha complementary countersunk aperture in the lower end of the tubularelement 26. A spring 37 encircles the stem 34 and coacts between theinner end of the tubular element 26 and the inner end of the plungor 31for normally urging the latter outwardly, the screw head 36 serving tolimit the extent of outward movement of the plunger 31. In the positionshown in Figs. 2 and 3, the globe ball 11 is journaled in the meridianring 13 by means of the plunger pins 3132 and the globe can then be usedin the usual manner of a swinging full meridian ring mounted globe.Because of the slight spacing between the meridian ring 13 and thecradle surface 17 it will be understood that the ring 13 is swingablethrough 360 so that all parts of the globe surface are easily visible.

By manual depression of the plunger pins 3132 or slight distortion ofthe band 13, it will be seen that the pin portions 32 can readily bedisengaged from the ring openings 33 so that the globe ball 11 can becompletely detached from the meridian ring 13. The globe ball 11 is thensupported in freely turnable relation on the cradle surface 17 as seenin full lines in Fig. 1. To facilitate free turning movement of theglobe ball 11, the pivot assemblies 24 are each removable as a unit fromthe globe ball 11 by reason of the slidable fit of the tubular element26 in the grommet 27. After removal of the pivots 24 they may beconveniently stored in a pair of bores 38 provided in the opposite endsof the base member 14. Although the pivot assemblies 24 comprise aconvenient method of detachably connecting the globe ball 11 to themeridian ring 13, it should be understood that other removable pivotalconnections can also be used such as thumb screws, threaded knobs, orthe like.

Referring now to Fig. 1, an important advantage of the invention isfound in the provision of the great circle scale 21 which is disposed atthe lower edge of the band 13 when the latter is in horizontal positionas shown in Fig. 1. However, in order to obtain accurate great circlemeasurements between any two points on the surface of the globe ball 11when the latter is supported in the cradle 17, it is necessary that thespherical center of the globe ball 11 be aligned in the plane of thelower edge of the band 13. Consequently, in the illustrated embodiment,when the globe ball 11 is supported by means of the pivots 24, the ballis positioned so that its spherical center falls in a plane passingthrough the exact center of the Width of the band 13, and furthermorethe pivot pins 22 swingably mount the band 13 at the center of itswidth. By dimensioning the upright support arms 18 such that themeridian ring mounted globe ball 11 is suspended a predetermineddistance A above the cradle surface 17 which is equal to exactlyone-half the width B of the band 13, it will be seen that when the ball11 is detached from the ring 13 and allowed to rest on the cradlesurface 17 its spherical center will be lowered by the distance A sothat the globe ball center is then aligned in the plane of the loweredge of the band 13. In Fig. 1 the uppermost ring mounted position ofthe globe ball 11 is indicated in broken lines and the cradle supportedposition is indicated in full lines. When the ball is in the latterposition, by positioning the meridian ring 13 in horizontal position, asin Fig. 1, it will be seen that it is a simple matter to rotate the ball11 with respect to the cradle surface 17 in order to align any twospaced points with the great circle scale 21 and thereby obtain areading of time differences, mileage, or degrees of latitude andlongitude.

In Figs. 4 to 6, a modified form of the invention is shown whichpossesses some advantages in that it permits a greater degree ofclearance between the swingable meridian ring and the base and alsopermits reading of the great circle scale at the upper edge of themeridian ring instead of the lower edge. In Figs. 4 to 6 the parts ofthe structure which are identical with the previous embodiment have beenidentified by the same reference numerals. Thus, the globe ball 11 isdetachably mounted by pivot assemblies 24 in the meridian ring 13 whichis in turn supported from the arms 18 extending upwardly from the base12 having a cushioned cradle surface 17. However, in this instance theindicia, designated at 41, comprising the great circle scale arearranged to be read at the upper edge of the band 13 when the latter isin horizontal position as seen in Fig. 4. Furthermore, the swingablemounting of the band 13 on the arms 18 is different from the previouslydescribed embodiment. In the previous embodiment the ring 13 wasswingably mounted on a fixed horizontal axis. In the present embodimentthe ring 13 is arranged so as to be swingably positioned on either oftwo upper and lower horizontal axes. Thus, the upper end portions of thesupport arms 18 are formed with inverted generally L- shaped slots 42each having an upper end portion 43 defining upper journals for theupper horizontal axis position of the ring 13 and a lower end portion 44defining lower journals for the lowermost horizontal axis po sition ofthe ring 13. A pair of studs or pins 46 project rigidly in diametricallyopposed relation from the band 13 and extend through the slots 42 in thearms 18. Friction collars or spacers 23 are provided as before, and Wingnuts 47 are threadedly mounted on the outer ends of the studs 46 forproviding the desired tight but swingable mounting of the meridian ring13.

In Fig. 5 the globe is shown in meridian ring mounted position assupported by the pivots 24 in the ring 13. The meridian ring 13 isjournaled on its uppermost horizontal axis with the pivot pins 46disposed in the upper journals 43 of the slots 42 so that the ring 13 isin elevated freely swingable relation above the cradle surface 17. InFig. 4 the globe ball 11 is shown in full lines in cradle supportedposition after detachment from the ring 13. In order to provide accurategreat circle measurements, it will be seen that the ring 13 is orientedin horizontal position and has been shifted so that the pins 46 aresupported in the lowermost journals 44 of the slots 42 so that themeridian ring is supported on its-lower horizontal axis. In thisposition the spherical center of the globe ball 11 is aligned in theplane of the upper edge of the band 13 so that the great circle scale 41provides the desired accurate great circle measurements. By properdimensioning of the support arms 18 and the slots 42 it will beunderstood that the spherical center of the globe is lowered a distanceA, which is equal to the width B of the band 13 when the globe ball ismoved from its broken line position to its full line position as seen inFig. 4. Of course, it will be understood that the band 13 is swingablysupported at the center of its width B and that the globe ball 11, whensupported by the pivots 24, is likewise supported with its sphericalcenter aligned in the plane of the center of the band 13. It will alsobe understood that by manipulation of the wing nuts 47 the meridian ring13 is easily shiftable between the communicating upper and lowerportions of the slots 42.

Although it is possible in the Figs. 4 to 6 embodiment to arrange therelative dimensions of the parts so that the great circle scale can belocated at the lower edge of the meridian ring 13, the advantage of thepresent embodiment resides in the fact that it permits a greatertolerance or clearance between the ring 13 and the cradle surface 17when the globe is in meridian ring mounted relation, and to obtain thisadded tolerance it is desirable to have the scale 41 at the upper edgeof the ring 13. As will also be evident, it is frequently easier to readthe scale at the upper edge of the ring 13. It should also be pointedout that the longer leg of each slot 42 is disposed at a slight angle soas to minimize the extent of lateral displacement of the band 13relative to the globe ball 11 when the latter is in its cradle supportedposition.

Although the invention has been described with particular reference tocertain specific structural embodiments thereof, it is to be understoodthat various modifications and equivalents may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as defined in the appendedclaims.

We claim:

1. In a terrestrial globe, the combination of a globe hall, a basehaving a cradle surface for receiving the ball in freely rotatablerelation, a meridian ring comprising a circular band having said ballrotatably and detachably journaled at its poles in said band, said bandbearing external indicia providing a great circle scale at onecircumferential edge-thereof, and a pair of supports extending upwardlyfrom said base in diametrically spaced relation and having said bandswingably connected thereto for supporting said ball at a predetermineddistance above the cradle surface of said base when said ball isjournaled in said band, said distance being such that when the ball isdetached from said band and supported on said cradle surface, thespherical center of the ball is aligned in the plane of said one edge ofthe band for providing accurate great circle measurements on the surfaceof said ball.

2. The structure of claim 1 further characterized in that said ball isjournaled in said band by means of a pair of pivot members extendingaxially through a pair of apertures in said band and receivable in axialrecesses at the poles of said ball, said pivot members being removablefrom the band and from the ball for disconnecting the-ball from saidband.

3. In a terrestrial globe, the combination of a globe ball, a basehaving a cradle surface for receiving the ball in freely rotatablerelation, a meridian ring comprising a flat circular band having saidball journaled at its poles therein and removable therefrom, and a pairof supports extending upwardly from said base in diametrically spacedrelation and having said band swingably connected thereto on a fixedhorizontal axis for supporting said ball a predetermined distance abovethe cradle surface of said base when said ball is journaled in saidband, said band being provided with external indicia comprising a greatcircle scale at the lower circumferential edge of the band when thelatter is in horizontal position, and said distance being such that whensaid ball is detached from the band and supported on said cradlesurface, the spherical center of the ball is aligned in the plane ofsaid lower edge of said band for providing ac- 6 curate great circlemeasurements on the surface of said ball.

4. The structure of claim 3 further characterized in that said band isconnected to said supports at the center of the width of the band andsaid distance is equal to one-half the width of the band.

5. In a terrestrial globe, the combination of a globe ball, a basehaving a cradle surface for receiving the ball in freely rotatablerelation, a meridian ring comprising a fiat circular band having saidball journaled at its poles therein and removable therefrom, a pair ofmeridian ring supports extending upwardly from said base indiametrically spaced relation, and means for swingably connecting saidband to said supports on either of a pair of upper and lower horizontalaxes, said ball being supported a predetermined distance above thecradle surface of said base when said ball is journaled in said band andsaid band is swingably mounted on said supports on said upper horizontalaxis, and said band being provided with external indicia comprising agreat circle scale at one circumferential edge thereof and the sphericalcenter of said ball being aligned in the plane of said one edge when theband is swingably mounted on said lower horizontal axis with the balldetached from the band and supported on said cradle surface. e

6. The structure of claim 5 further characterized in that said band isconnected to said supports at the center of the width of the band inboth upper and lower positions thereof, said great circle scale is atthe upper edge of the band when the latter is in horizontal position,and said distance is equal to the width of the band.

7. The structure of claim 5 further characterized in that said supportsare formed with inverted generally L- shaped slot means providing spacedupper and lower journals for a pair of pivot members extending betweenthe band and said slot means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,151,601 Johnson Mar. 21, 1939 2,279,162 Dupler Apr. 7, 1942 2,408,651Kiehl Oct. 1, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS 651,491 Germany Oct. 14, 1937

